


What the Eyes See

by Ladiladida



Category: Star Wars, Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure, Angst, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Season 2 spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-15 12:20:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28813323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ladiladida/pseuds/Ladiladida
Summary: Din Djarin was meant to be laying low, he was meant to be resting. Yet now he was on the hunt to find someone who had helped him, yet they were not who they seemed.Post season two.
Relationships: Din Djarin/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 1





	What the Eyes See

These days had meant to have been about laying low, a chance to rest and recuperate after handing over the kid. The fight against the dark troopers and Gideon had left him bruised, but the sense of loss of Grogu had been a deeper wound. Yet how was it now that he was stalking the streets of Praser, a decadent city on the planet of Levin V?

Mando knew he was close, scraps of information, chance sightings by others and his persuasive interrogation methods had narrowed the night’s head start the other had had. What was he going to do once he had discovered what he sought? He still had no ship, still needed to get word to Cara, still needed to avoid the planet party that were tracking him. Nearing a darkened building, he guessed from the description that this was the place.

Inside he could hear faint music and there was low light hidden behind drapes inside. Approaching the door he knocked hard and within a moment, it was opened by a Levinese native.  
“I’ve come to sample the pleasures.” He said quietly, looking about him. “I hear you’ve some new blood.”  
“Are you a regular? I don’t recognise you.” The doorman said suspiciously.  
“Of course, I have had all your assets, Froda, Rameen, Isyra...”  
The doorman seemed satisfied and shuffled backwards, allowing him entry. Within an instant, Mando had seized him by the throat and pointed his gun at his face.  
“The new blood, where is she?”  
“We have no new blood working... I swear!”  
“That’s not necessarily what I meant... I believe the girl I’m looking for is injured and possibly desperate. Why else would she end up here?” Mando explained, the gun now pressing against the crusty skin of the doorman. “So I’m asking again...”  
“Okay... okay... just follow...”

The doorman lurched and hit a button by the wall and within seconds an alarm sounded. Mando shot the doorman but was soon descended upon by several Levinese goons and patrons. Mando made easy work of them, even with still healing bruises beneath the armour. They were a walk in the park to those he’d fought recently.

Once defeated, he realised many of the women had fled the ground floor, he began to make his way upstairs. Everything was quiet, lamplight flickered and he was sure there were only two of them up there. He scoured every room, yet discovered nothing. Each merely had beds in disarray, clothes strewn and air musky, but no sign of whom he sought.

When he reached the end of the landing, he heard a faint sound on the stairs and turning swiftly, he was surprised to hear the ascent of feet, not an escape attempt.  
“I am here, please do not harm anyone else.” The voice said, faltering from fear. Mando watched as a pair of hands appeared first, feeling their way before the rest was revealed. Mando came forward a few steps and she was more within his view, illuminated by lamplight strong at the top of the stairs.

The woman reached the landing and slowly rose to a standing position her hands out in surrender.  
“I mean no protest.” She continued, “I will go wherever you bid me.”  
“Who do you think has come for you?” Mando replied at last, and he saw immediately her body tense from shock. He stepped forward slowly, she flinched slightly and he saw that her eyes were red and swollen.  
“I did not expect they’d send you.”

_Some weeks earlier_

_It was certainly a turning point in the life of a Mandalorian. When had Mando found himself without his ship, in possession of a blade that had him hidden from view and experiencing the acute loss of a charge that had become so dear to him? Bo-Katan had wanted the black Sabre, in the minutes following Skywalker’s departure with Grogu, she barely gave a moment for Mando to draw breath before beginning again._

_Everyone in the room knew the two must fight, she could only gain the right to the sabre in that way. But now, his little friend gone and reeling still from his fight with the Dark Troopers, he found himself unable to rally to the prospect of facing her. Here though, Bo-Katan was out manoeuvred, for this bridge was filled with greater allies of Mando than her own. Cara who had stepped over to him when he finally allowed his frame to buckle, gave Bo-Katan a look to say ‘dare to go further?’ On that bridge, a deal had been made and when Mando was ready, he would return on his honour._

_Within a day, Slave I deposited the now harbourless Din Djarin on a small, lush planet named Levin V. He had heard of it vaguely as a passing reference on a chart, it was little thought of compared to most destinations. Cara walked with him, herself somewhat deflated by the loss of Grogu and seeing the impact it had on her friend. For someone who wore a helmet, she saw right through Mando right then._  
_“You can rest here, I’ll take you to my contact. It was a consideration of mine to reside here before I chose Sorgan.”_  
_“Why didn’t you?” Mando asked._  
_“I couldn’t afford it.”_  
_“And I can?”_  
_“For now, you can use it as a motivator to heal quickly. Bo-Katan will not think to look for you here. It’s a good place to be.”_  
_“You and I think alike.” He replied, the weight of his belongings adding to the ache of his still bruised frame. “Temptation will get the better of her patience.”_  
_“You can think about what it truly means to wield this sabre too.”_  
_“I don’t want it.” He remarked flatly._  
_“That’s not what I meant.” Cara said with a smirk, throwing him a sideways glance._

_Arriving at a small holding which boasted large raised beds of greenery, vegetation and vibrant blooms, the pair stopped. The gate was locked, though the fence would be easy enough to jump. Mando looked at it, normally he would jump it without issue, but his aching ribs told him to think better of it._  
_“They’re big on manners here, that’s what the lock is for.” Cara laughed. “You’ll see the irony soon enough.”_  
_Cara reached over to where a set of metallic bells were threaded on thick rope, she raised them above her head and shook them. A brassy clamour rang through the air and within a minute, three figures began to approach._  
_“Who are these people?” Mando asked_  
_“Reliable business owners, they front line in everything you see but like I said, pay right and you can lay low.”_

_Soon, a couple and a third figure a little behind them stood on the opposite site of the fence. The couple wore a similar shade of blue each, the fabric not new but of more decadent sort than most labouring villagers were found in on most worlds. The figure behind was caped in dark green, a hood pulled up over their head._  
_“Dune Cara, it has been some time, if I’m to say truths, I wouldn’t have credited your survival.” The man said with a smirk._

_His pale skin had a magenta hue about the temples and chin, a grey freckling cascading from hairline to beneath the neckline of his garments down each side of his face. His eyes were dull grey, lips plump and greyish hair thin on his likewise speckled scalp. His wife by contrast, though similar in skin pallor was much lovelier, cheekbones set proudly and eyes a deep violet. Her long black hair was bound in a elaborate plait down her back._

_“My friend Mando needs a place to rest for a short time. I told him here would be ideal as your discretion is well known, Sorrell.”_  
_Sorrell looked at Mando, seemingly unimpressed by his being dressed head to foot in armour, clearly likewise unenthused that he was a Mandalorian._  
_“He’s not sickly?”_  
_“No.” Mando replied moving closer to the gate. “I bear no contagion, I only require a place to rest, you will be compensated.”_  
_“Indeed we will, this gate does not open for insult.” Sorrell said bemused, clearly only amusing himself, so he gestured idly with a hand. “This is my wife Char, that there is Gran our servant of sorts.”_

_The figure in the green stepped forward a little and nodded their head in greeting._  
_“Oh come now Gran,” Sorrell jeered, “you can do much better than that!”_  
_The figure seemed reluctant but pushed back the dark green hood and displayed a paler version of her companions’ complexion, but where Char’s eyes were brilliant violet, hers were milky and opaque framed by red irritated skin on the lids and under eye. But for this, she might have equalled her mistress. Unlike Char, she had her dark hair wrapped tightly in a bun, tightening her face further._

_“Forgive my husband.” Char said at last, “he is prone to humour, we are trying our best to cure him. Mando, you are of course welcome. I would hope we might aid you in your recovery. Price is important, but the hand of friendship is likewise.”_  
_Sorrell snorted, prompting Cara to roll her eyes. For a few moments they bargained and set a price. Once agreed, Gran opened the lock, a task familiar to her it seemed and Mando and Cara entered._

Mando moved close to Gran and looked her up and down, she looked ill, tired and her eyes were worse than ever. Had he not arrived at this point, he wasn’t sure what would have happened to her.  
“They did not send me, I came myself.” Mando explained.  
“I can only apologise for my part in the deception, if they took much from you, I hope you were able to recover it.” Gran said shakily and he saw she was trying her best to steady her nerves, but she was clearly sickly from fever too. Likely days spent travelling in the elements following significant mistreatment and beating had done little for her strength. Yet she’d survived this long.

“Have you... been harmed whilst you have been here... has anyone...”  
“I don’t think many are allured by the sickly and the blind...” she laughed morosely.  
“We need to go, I can call a friend and get us out of here.” Mando continued taking her arm in his gloved hand and beginning to lead her down the stairs carefully. “But it make take her a few days to arrive, we’ll have to lay low.”  
“You said they were after you, I will slow you down. Hand me in for my part, I started the fire, I have heard it caused more damage than I intended.” Gran explained, “If you think I am frightened you are right, but I like to think that I will die not long before they can do me any serious harm.”  
“I understand that you were not complicit of your own will and you did what you thought best to help get me out of a situation. I’m repaying you the same, now let’s go.”

Gran did not argue further, Mando took a blanket from a luxurious entertainment room they passed through and wrapped it around her. Carefully, he opened the door and happy all was still quiet he guided her out onto the street. The cool air seemed to stir her a little and she moved a little quicker, though he could tell her legs were unsteady.

_Mando was shown to a small premises nearby to the house which seemed a fair quality of comfort for the exorbitant price he would be paying. What surprised him though, was despite the warm, lush planet, he saw many work hands bundling large quantities of ice from a cavernous entryway hidden behind the main house. Char seeing him observe the workers explained._  
_“We have many sources of industry at this birth of ours. We are abundant in our flora and crops as you saw, but these workers come to chisel the fire ice and we sell it on to the town.”_  
_“The ice has a signature vein with a orange sheen to it, sometimes even blood red.” Sorrell explained, “it’s native only to Levin.”_  
_“It’s a trifle for the homes of those on the wealthier side of our planet.” Char continued. “Such trifles allow us to find the growing of the necessities without a care for poverty.”_

_In truth, Mando was hardly interested in the financial interests of this couple. Char seemed less inclined to gloat unlike her husband, that was something in her favour. They left Mando and Cara at the two rooms he would occupy and returned to the main house. Gran had not been permitted to accompany the four beyond the gate and had earlier been dismissed. The pair placed Mando’s belongings down, the former relieved to give up the weight. He rarely experienced fatigue, strong as he was._  
_“You were right, they’re awful.” Mando chuckled._  
_“Rest fast, like I said.” Cara replied._  
_“I’m grateful for your help, I need to regain my strength.”_  
_“You need to think some things over too, there’s some feelings to get past. I’m sorry that you had to give him up in the end. We all came together when you told us he was taken, no one could deny him anything.”_  
_“No.” Mando laughed, “though I tried enough times.”_  
_“I better get back, Fett has plans of his own and he’s my lift.”_  
_“Thank you for your help.”_  
_“I’ll head back when you send word, just don’t be long.”_  
_The pair shook hands and Cara departed._

For several streets they moved cautiously and were not disturbed. What remained of Gran’s little strength was fading and he felt her lean more on his frame to the point where he was supporting her weight. Gran stumbled, one knee seeming to buckle and he stopped. In the shadows of a canopied building he turned to look fully at her again.  
“I know you’re weak, but I will get you out of here and find you medical assistance. Can you still walk a little more?”  
“I will try.”

Mando took her arm and placed if about his armoured shoulders and hesitated to put one of his own about her waist.  
“I need to...”  
“It’s fine.” She replied weakly. “I would be grateful...”

His arm went about her waist and they continued on. For a long while they stalked silently as they could through the streets, Mando could hear Gran’s breathing becoming a wheeze. She was pushing herself hard which impressed him, but he was reluctant to push his luck.

Having left a lot of his belongings including the dark sabre on the outskirts of the city hidden from sight, he was close to retrieving them. They just needed to move quicker and this brought him to a decision. Stopping, he picked up the weight of her in his arms, not asking permission this time. Gran did not argue, in fact she was able to say little now and he continued to move on.

Soon Mando could hear a hubbub of voices in the distance behind them, the alarm had been sounded and trouble was catching up to them. Moving quicker, yet feeling the strain somewhat from travelling on foot since he left the small holding to find her, he reached the edge of the city where he had left his belongings.  
“Gran, we’re here.” She said nothing and he shook her slightly “Gran.”  
She had given way to exhaustion, he was on his own.


End file.
